A_Random_Wierdo this one is for you, wierdo! ♥♥♥

Unedited.

"One, two, three, fou-" Charles didn't get to finish as Sophie stepped on his foot and nearly fell on top of him.

He struggled to cover his wince, as he tried to recover easily. Lady Gardenia who was playing the record player which turned out to be a instrument of sorts, tsked. "It looks like we'll have to go back to the basics Charlie." She said. Sophie wasn't sure why she continued coming to these disasters after the first night, she had returned, again and again. Something inside of her wanted to become a proper elf but the rest of her told her to forget it.

"What basics?" Sophie asked as Charlie stepped away. "Very basics." Lady Gardenia said. Sophie found out basics was balancing books on her head while walking in heels. She received several bruises that night and scorning from Lady Gardenia but she took it in stride. She would have to be as confident as she could be on the next mission, and being graceful just might save her from falling and cracking her head against the floor.

Sophie had decided to take a practical look at these lessons. Learning to be confident on her own feet, could save a burden on other people. Everyday after school, Sophie and Wylie looked at every angle in Exile. Memorizing the lay out, every escape route and meet up places should either of them wind up lost. Wylie had managed to talk Tiergan into getting the lay out of Exile, and a small group of gnomes to sneak them in and get out. Tiergan had received a list of names of all the prisoners but it was up to Wylie and Sophie to find the cells themselves.

"How did that happen?" Wylie asked pointing to a bruise on her arm, the next day after school, and detention. "I fell." Sophie said tugging her sleeve down to cover the green bruise. She leaned back over her notes, she had already memorized but she searched them again. "Alright, so we need to find these two who are both in different cells." Wylie said, "We'll enter through this place right here." Wylie said reviewing the plan, circling the entrance Sophie had entered through the last time she broke into Exile, that was when Calla was with her...and her friends.

"Right. There is a four way split up ahead." She said letting her finger slid across the lay out of Exile, up to the split off. Where everyone had split up, "Distraction?" She asked. "I'm cutting right, and going to avoid the dwarves as much as possible." Wylie said touching the satchel Sophie had Dex fill up with the smoke bombs, and other squares.
"I'll go straight, and start looking here." Sophie said adding her own blue circle to the plan. "I'll be crisscrossing through the main eight hall ways." Wylie said tracing his red marker crisscross through the eight halls, to the right. "Check the names. I'll work my way in a square, until I can find the names." Sophie said making a mental image of the plan, as she traced her blue marker down the halls.

"Should we take crystals?" Wylie asked. Sandor stood disapprovingly at Sophie's door. "Leaping ones don't work down there. I don't want to risk balefire either." Sophie shook her head. "We'll have to use our night vision." She said. She had sneaked out of the house several times to practice night vision. It had improved somewhat, Sophie was confident she could get through Exile quickly if she ran and didn't fall. "So these should cause enough light?" Wylie asked, as he pointed to the sucker punches, Dex had somehow made glow in the dark. "They should." Sophie said as she absentmindedly started braiding her hair tightly, making Calla's braid always seemed to calm her.

She had her own modified sucker punches, bound on her wrists. She had dressed in her red dress white shirt and black gloves with dark pants and comfortable boots. Wylie was dressed in his own dark clothes, his dark hair braided much like his father's. "Why don't we just teleport?" Wylie asked. Chills shot up Sophie's spine. "No." She said, as her stomach flipped at the thought. "I can't teleport through solid things." Not to mention her instincts were screaming at her not to. "Alright." Wylie said as he tapped the end of his open across the desk, Sophie and he had been bent over.

"I have something to add." Sandor said. "It's for a security measure tonight." He said looking at Sophie. Sophie and Wylie looked at each other. They needed to be as safe as possible. "Alright." They said. Sandor's hand rested on the doorknob of Sophie's door, then he opened it. Sophie nearly flipped the desk in frustration. "This is your back up?" Keefe asked as he strode in the room. The others trailing behind him. Sophie had to take a deep breath, and shove the irrational thought of chasing them all out of her room with her shoe. "Sandor we can't take them. We only have two gnomes. One for the trip there and one to go back." Sophie said, storing the anger away.

"But you need us." Tam said. "Actually we don't." Wylie said, as he turned back to the plans. "We have this covered." He said as he circled the several meeting points Sophie and himself would meet each other at. Sophie leaned over his shoulder. "There." She circled one last stopping point. Wylie frowned, "Right. If I forget that one, cut straight down the right and hit the second one." He said. Sophie nodded. "Foster, you don't honestly think we are going to let you do this alone, do you?" Keefe asked. "No. Because you don't have the authority to 'let' me do anything." Sophie said, as she traced a quick line in her path. "Either way, if we have to tie you down, we won't let you go alone." Keefe said. "I'm not alon-"

"Foster." Wylie said as he touched her arm. Sophie looked up to see him watching her friends she looked over at them. To see Linh unrolling a coil of rope. She rolled her eyes. "You guys can't be serious. Wylie and I already planned everything out." Sophie ducked and battle rolled across her room, to avoid the lightning quick move from Keefe who had his own coil of rope. She landed in a crouch, those lessons were valuable in their own way. Everyone's eyes went wide, and Dex's jaw dropped. "When did you learn to do that?" Keefe asked. Sophie stood up and brushed herself off. "Like I said. Wylie and I have covered every angle we possibly could. You guys haven't planned anything. Nor have you guys trained."

Sandor had taught both her and Wylie hand to hand combat, very well. "Sophie, think what your about to do. Remember what happened last time?" Biana asked stepping closer to Fitz. Sophie's foot tapped impatiently. "That's because it was a trap. Fitz had to pay the price of the Black Swan's mistake."

"Wait what happened?" Wylie asked. He sounded more curious rather than concerned. Sophie shot him a 'not now' look. Before turning back to her friends. "Listen guys, I appreciate the sentiment, but Wylie and I got this." Finally, Fitz presented an argument that silenced Sophie and Wylie. "Can you both face it again? Knowing you Dad was there for nearly twelve years? Knowing that it was you that put him there?" Sophie stepped forward but Wylie settled a hand on her shoulder. He glared at Fitz before pulling her to a corner of the room. "He's right. I've been trying to ignore it but..." Wylie trailed off. "Wylie I know you can do this." Sophie said resting her own hand on his shoulder. "You can't let that bother you. Your dad is out of there, he is healing." Wylie nodded. "I know. I also know it wasn't you that put him there. That was out of line....but we could use some help." He said. "Back up." He said.

"Back up for back up? No, we don't even have enough gnomes to carry half of us." Sophie shook her head. Wylie sighed and stepped away from her and paced for a moment before finally speaking. "We can try and press it-"

"No. Absolutely not." Sophie snapped. She wasn't going to risk her friends or the gnomes, by trying to over work them. "Well what else could we possibly do?" He asked. "Nothing! They can't come that's it. Nothing. Not only would they hinder the mission we've already plan-"

"Unless we split up in teams..." Wylie offered. "No. We still don't have any way for them to get in and out."

"Teleport at the entrance and have the gnomes open the tunnels." Wylie said. "No!"

"Why? Why are you so against teleporting?" Wylie asked. "Because I can't!" Sophie said. "I can't teleport anymore. Every instinct tells me no, I don't even know if it's safe to even try a small jump." Sophie said. She hadn't realized it was true until she said it. The unfairness burned in her chest, and the silence that had fallen was only broken by Dex. "What?" He asked. Sophie took a deep breath calming herself. "I can't teleport anymore." She said. "I'm not going to risk testing to see if it still is working." She said. "How do you know it's not working?" Biana asked. Sophie glanced at Sandor. "You said, no matter what go with my instincts, to do what my gut tells me." Sandor nodded. "Well every part of me is saying to not teleport." She said.

"When did this happen?" Tam asked. "It was after we finished training." Fitz answered for her, his expression was troubled. Sophie nodded, "I don't know what it is but it's not working any more."

"Have you told Mr. Forkle?" Dex asked. Sophie shook her head. "He didn't know I had the ability to teleport when he was messing with me." Sophie didn't miss the way the others flinched when she said 'messing'. "He can't do anything for it. I don't know why it's not work-"

"It's because he haven't cognated fully." Fitz interrupted her. Sophie looked at him. "My telepathy seemed weaker for a while, but I figured it was just stress....but, it's because we haven't." Sophie sighed. "So why don't you just cognate?" Keefe asked which earned two glares. "No." Both Fitz and Sophie said firmly. "Okay." Keefe said putting his hands up in surrender. "Why?" Sophie took a moment to process Wylie's question. "Why not? What's stopping you?" He asked. Neither Sophie or Fitz had an answer to that. It just didn't feel right. The timing wasn't correct. "No. We're not doing that." Sophie said holding back the defensiveness in her voice, but she was sure everyone heard the edge in her voice, dropping the subject Wylie picked up on another.

"Gnomes. We need more if we are all going to Exile." And just like that Sophie wasn't given any mind, or say in the matter. She gave up, she wasn't dealing with the arguments. She turned back to the lay out plan. Memorizing it and repeating it in her head, branding it into her brain. As the others argued who to take and to see if they could get more gnomes, Sophie felt someone stand beside her. She didn't look up, as she traced and retraced her routes and stops with her finger. "Alright we've got it. Tam and Fitz are coming with us." Wylie said settling an argument Keefe was starting. Sophie glanced out her window to see the stars starting to appear.

It was about time. Closing her curtain she looked back at her plans, once more before nodding. She stood up straight. "Your registry pendants." Biana said. "I can scramble it for a couple of hours." Dex said. "Wylie and I are fine." Sophie said checking in on Eliza to see her and Anne holding a conversation over a game. Wylie nodded, "Alright just us two than." Tam said stepping to Dex. Sophie felt Fitz's concerned gaze. Popping her neck and loosening the muscles in her shoulders, "Let's just go already." She said putting her alicorn pin on, along with another line of squares. Wylie?"

"Distraction. I'll take Tam with me." He said. "Fitz will go with me than, Fitz be on the look out for the names Dewise and Iner Silongue. You too Tam. Don't stop moving, don't lose your partner." She said as she pulled her gloves on. "One last thing." Wylie said as he crossed his arms. "What now?" Sophie asked. "Be careful, don't touch any of the doors." He said. Sophie gave a tight smile. "I'll try not to. Let's go." She said. Shooting Sandor a glare, he returned it with a condescending look.

Sophie quietly tip toed down stairs, hesitating on the second floor, she cocked her ear to see if she could pick up any sound from Grady and Edaline. She ran on her toes as quietly as she could, across the stretch of hall way that trailed in front of the room. She past Jolie's old room and down stairs. She checked over her shoulder to see the others had followed her just as quietly.

At Calla's tree, Sophie kneeled before it. "Give me courage." She whispered, leaning her head against the bark. The smell of the flowers lifted her pounding heart, and eased the tension in her legs. She followed the roots that buried into the ground she leaned her ear against the ground. She could hear Calla's song, mixing and echoing with others that reverberated through the ground. Sophie tapped the ground. The music became louder. Sophie quickly sat back on her heels. Before long two gnomes popped out of the ground. "Hello." One said. "Hello." Sophie repeated. "I was told there were only going to be two." The gnome said. "We had a adjustment in the plan." Sophie answered. The gnome nodded thoughtfully.

"My name is Sori and this is my partner Lano. We can get two more gnomes to help us." Sori said. "I'm Sophie-"

"Yes the Moonlark, I know, Granite had informed us of who was coming."

"The other two are Tam and Fitz." Sophie said. Sori nodded. "Shall we go then?" Sori asked. Sophie took a deep breath. "Yes. We need to get in and out as quickly as possible." Sophie said. She stood up, as the two gnomes agreed.

~

Sophie had nearly forgotten the smell of Exile. She glanced at Wylie who seemed to shove aside his own feelings. "Good luck." He said before racing down the hall. Sophie listened to his and Tam's fading footsteps as they ran. She counted too ten before grabbing Fitz's arm and running. To get through her full route she'd have to pace herself.

Her sucker punches gave off a faint glow, as she ran straight as quietly as she could, she tried to ignore the wailings and snarls of the inmates. The heartbroken sobbing, the mad laughing that made chills sliver down her spine, making every hair stand up on end. "What's wrong?" Fitz transmitted. Sophie jumped, realizing he couldn't hear it. He couldn't hear any of it. Sophie imagined herself putting a block between her mind and the prisoners. It muffled the sound but didn't completely silence the voices.

Looking at Fitz, his grasp on her arm tightened. "You can hear them?" Sophie nodded as they hurried down another dark hall. "It's because we haven't become cognate partners. We're weaker without each other." Fitz said. Sophie forced her legs to move, she shoved down the bile that was rising in her throat, and continued forward. "I'm alright." She said. In truth she was holding ads tightly as she could to Fitz's arm. "I'm alright." She repeated. "I'm alright." She said both to herself and to Fitz. Fitz stopped her in the middle of the hallway. "Sophie, you don't have to do this." He said. "I'm fine." Sophie said as she started running again. Fitz however jerked her back. "Hold on." He said. He pressed his fingers to her temples.

It was like a bullet proof glass lowered over Sophie's mind. The voices bounced off of it without reaching her. They were harmless, and could do nothing to shatter the blocking. "Better?" Fitz asked his hand brushing across Sophie's forehead. "Yeah. Thanks." Sophie said and they continued forward. Sophie looked at the names glowing over the doors.

Boswell Javier.

Solem  Nopel.

Subject one.

...

Sophie screeched to a halt and turned back to the door. Both telepaths creeper up to the door and looked inside the pitch black room. Subject one, sounded like an experiment code, or name. Raising her glowing sucker punch she looked inside to see what it illuminated. Shadows shrouded the room, and Sophie could see nothing, but hers and Fitz's long shadows, casting across the smooth stone floor.

BAM!

With a strangled yelp Sophie and Fitz fell over each other getting away from the door. Heart thundering, and panting for breath, Sophie looked at Fitz's pale, drawn face. They had both seen it.

The council was keeping a dark elf in Exile.

(Mwahahaha!) (•_-)